A source said the Sox were one of several teams putting a claim in for Thome, whose mere presence in the clubhouse would be a plus. It wouldn’t hurt Dunn and those Sox who didn’t play with Thome in 2006-09 to watch the future Hall of Famer approach his every-day job and the designated hitter role.

“I’d love to add Jim Thome back, to be honest with you,” said Guillen, who was looking for a more versatile designated hitter that also could play the field when Thome left for Minnesota in 2010. “A lot of people think I don’t want Jimmy. It was just at that time we didn’t have any place for him.”

Yeah, we had room for Mark Kotsay but not Jim Thome.

“But I have said day in and day out that Jimmy is one of my favorite guys in baseball. That’s up to [general manger] Kenny [Williams]. I don’t know if we’re going to have five DHs. I don’t expect him to be here, but if they want to bring him here, if you ask anybody wearing this uniform if they want Jim Thome back, everybody here would say yes. But that’s not our department.”

UPDATE: I forgot this last night the Sox may be blocking Cleveland from getting Thome. And we see today that they may have claimed another lefty: OF/DH Jason Kubel.

“Go get the inspirational speeches from someone else. I’m [angry],” Williams told MLB.com, responding to a question concerning the White Sox chances to claim an American League Central over the final 40 games. “This team should be 10 games over .500 right now.

“That’s the bad news. The good news is we still have time to right the ship. But if you are looking for inspiration, or anyone is, or pats on the back from this recent surge, you are looking at the wrong person. I’ll give you a pat on the back if you end up in first place.”

Williams said that anything short of winning the division would be an obvious disappointment, adding that winning the division really isn’t even good enough in the White Sox championship-oriented minds. He acknowledged, as an example, being impressed by Alejandro De Aza’s play since called up to the big league club, as the outfielder is batting .310 and infusing life into the White Sox lineup.

But he added that he’ll be more impressed if De Aza keeps it up.

“Nothing is going to impress me the rest of the year unless we are in first place at the end,” Williams said. “Other than that, it’s just find a way to win today.”

[T]he Marlins made two moves that shocked the clubhouse Saturday night: They optioned left fielder Logan Morrison to the minors and released veteran infielder Wes Helms. Morrison said he was stunned by the news and suggested his demotion and Helms’ release had something to do with an off-field incident on which he refused to elaborate. “I’m heartbroken and I’m disappointed,’ Morrison said, his voice shaking. “I asked for an explanation and the one I got was I was hitting .240 I don’t know if that makes any sense to me or to you guys but. All I know is I go out and I give everything for this team. I play hurt, I play through injury and this is how you get treated. It doesn’t seem very fair or right to me.’ Morrison, who is batting .249 with 17 homers and 60 RBI, has been outspoken about moves the front office has made. Both he and Helms have been critical about teammate Hanley Ramirez …

Before the game, Morrison spent a good half hour sitting in the dugout talking to General Manager Mike Hill while the Giants took batting practice. “Right now I just feel resentment and anger,’ Morrison said after the game. “Stand up for what’s right and this happens.’ …

One team source believes the team the team is sending a message, “To me it’s a lesson, concentrate on the game and stop trying to be so funny.”

Logan Morrison plans to consult the player’s union to see if he has any grounds for a grievance against the Marlins for optioning him late Saturday to Class AAA New Orleans.

“We are going to, with absolute certainty, explore this and contact the union and make sure Logan’s rights are protected,’’ said Fred Wray, Morrison’s agent. “It doesn’t seem like everything adds up here.’’

But the fact that LoMo is upset enough to consider the action, and not comfortable enough to settle matters behind closed doors, tells you something about the crumbling relationship between player and management.

Pitch classifications provided by the Gameday Algorithm and may be inaccurate.Pitch Type LWTS correspond to how many runs were likely to score on a particular pitch based on average run expectancy when each pitch was thrown and what happened as a result. Negative scores indicate more effective pitches.Time to Plate is the time, in seconds, that it takes an average pitch of this type to reach the plate. This is strongly correlated with velocity, but also factors in movement.

August 8, 2011

Injuries and the shift into a tougher park in the tougher league have caused Peavy’s career to stall over the last two years or so, but he’s shown signs of getting back on track over his last four starts. He dominated the weak-hitting Twins yesterday (8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K) and more than held his own against the Yankees earlier in the week (7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K), and the good news that he’s consistently throwing 100+ pitches without showing signs of falling off in the later innings. He had a problem once his pitch count got past 75-80 earlier in the year and last season as well.

Seems like Peavy is slowly getting his strength back after last season’s injury.

Pitch classifications provided by the Gameday Algorithm and may be inaccurate.Pitch Type LWTS correspond to how many runs were likely to score on a particular pitch based on average run expectancy when each pitch was thrown and what happened as a result. Negative scores indicate more effective pitches.Time to Plate is the time, in seconds, that it takes an average pitch of this type to reach the plate. This is strongly correlated with velocity, but also factors in movement.

… Called up for a cameo in the majors earlier this year, Stewart made three starts, two of which were okay and one of which was horrendous. Stewart spent his time in the Jays system at Double-A, a repeat assignment from last year that turned in similar results. Now with the White Sox, Stewart has been assigned to Triple-A.

Stewart is not an ace in the making, but could still be a reliable mid-rotation starter. If his change-up never fully develops the way a few organizations have now hoped it will, he can be a reliable bullpen arm, which is the path Cincinnati had him on prior to 2009.

Williams also admitted that most of the calls he’s getting from GMs at this point are of the prank variety.

“I’ve got a lot of friends in the game, so some of them are calling just to check in, make sure we are kind of where we are,” Williams smiled. “There’s a lot of rumors out there about us going either way, either being buyers or sellers, so there’s people checking in. Then there’s some of the more smart aleck friends of mine in the general manager ranks that are calling with humorous anecdotes as to what’s going on. It’s just that time of year. I think it’s the most fun time to be a general manager that there is during the calendar year.”

July 28, 2011

ESPN’s Keith Law seems to have the same viewpoint of Zach Stewart that the White Sox expressed after acquiring him in the Jackson trade. Here’s what he wrote about him after scouting an appearance by Jackson late last season: “Stewart showed four pitches, pitching at 90-96 with sink and some tail with a tight, out-pitch slider at 83-87 that he threw for strikes, even back-dooring it to left-handed hitters for called strikes. His changeup was the biggest surprise, as another scout at the game told me he hadn’t seen it this good before; it’s mostly straight but has good separation from the fastball at 81-85 and his arm speed is excellent. He also used a fringy curveball with good depth but he didn’t command the pitch as well as he did the slider. Stewart worked aggressively with everything and had good tempo. He stays over the rubber before driving forward with a long stride, although his arm action is a little long in the back and he pronates relatively late in the delivery. I know several scouts see Stewart as a sinker/slider pen guy, but I see four pitches, a good frame, and a pitcher who likes to attack hitters. I see a potential No. 2 starter, maybe a No. 3 if the changeup isn’t always where it was tonight.”

Stewart has failed to take another step forward in 2011 but Law still believes they got a guy who Don Cooper could help turn into a solid big-league starter. Here’s what he wrote on Wednesday after the Jackson trade: “Stewart is a classic sinker-slider starter with great movement on a low-90s sinker that will touch the mid-90s; his control took a step forward this year but he wasn’t getting as many ground balls, which is more a question of his pitching plan than a lack of life on the fastball. His slider is his best offspeed pitch, tight at 83-87 with good tilt, and he commands the pitch well, throwing it to both sides of the plate. He’s got a solid, average-or-better changeup and showed no platoon split this year. With a show-me curveball and good control, he should be given every opportunity to start for Chicago, and I like pitching coach Don Cooper’s chances to turn Stewart into at least a mid-rotation starter if not more.”

Kevin Goldstein won’t agree with Mr. Law:

I've never understood people projecting Stewart as a No. 3 or even better starter. No. 4 or 8th inning guy is more realistic.

… The other part of doing what we ended up doing today allowed us to get (Alejandro) De Aza in the lineup and in centerfield to afford Ozzie more than Rios has been giving us. Rios is going to have to take a backseat now and we’re going to see if De Aza can give us a little bit of a spark and provide us with a way to manufacture some runs.”

On who to play, who to sit:

“Here’s what I told Ozzie: don’t worry about the size of the contracts, just worry about putting the players out there on a given day that can help you win. The size of the contracts is not Ozzie’s problem, it’s not Jerry’s problem, it’s not the coaches’ problem, it’s my problem. So, put the players on the field that can win and I don’t give a darn if one guy is making $400,000 and the other guy is making $12 million. I’m sending a message to everyone.”

“Throw the contracts and salaries aside. If we’ve got $20 [million] or $30 million sitting on the bench, then that’s a Kenny Williams problem. That’s not Ozzie’s problem. We’ll have pretty good pinch-hitters.”

“We’ve talked about it maybe three times about how we feel about [Rios]. I don’t think you bring people [up] to push people to get better,” Guillen said. “I think you bring people [up] to make the ballclub better, and hopefully that move does that.”

July 27, 2011

He uses a 90 MPH sinker, a slider, an improved change, and an occasional curve. You can find a full report on him here on the link below. I make him as a Grade B/B- type right now, with his stock having slipped some over the last year. He could make a good inning-eater with a decent defense behind him, or he could dominate more readily if used in the pen.

Stewart threw 95-96 MPH in the bullpen but has settled into the 89-93 range as a starter, though his fastball has sinking action. His best secondary pitch is an effective variable-speed slider. His changeup has improved over the last year and rates as average overall, sometimes better than average, sometimes a bit worse. He’s made great progress refining his mechanics and command since college, and has shown the ability to eat innings without ill-effect.

Stewart works quickly and throws four pitches for strikes, making him a future mid-rotation candidate for Chicago. His fastball features sinking and tailing action at 88-92 mph, while his quality low-80s slider functions as his No. 2 pitch. Stewart worked in a mid-80s changeup more frequently this season with New Hampshire, and he sells the change of pace with good arm speed. He also surprises opponents with a seldom-used curveball.

Frasor is a nice enough reliever with a modest price tag for next season that comes in the form of a club option. Being the prospect in the deal, Stewart’s perceived upside is higher. Stewart has what you’d want in a starting pitcher. He throws hard (reaching the mid-90s with his fastball) and has a vicious slider. The problem, though, is that he lacks a third pitch, and his statistical track record in the minor leagues is underwhelming for a pitcher with his profile. At 24, Stewart has appeared in 20 Triple-A games (all in relief) and has spent this season back in the rotation at Double-A New Hampshire, striking out seven batters per nine innings pitched while allowing more than a hit per inning pitched and holding a 4.20 earned run average. The cons have led some, like Kevin Goldstein, to believe his upside (twitter) might be limited to that of a number four starter or set-up man.

His repertoire includes an 89-94 mph fastball, good slider, and changeup. Stewart produces easy velocity and has a solid delivery with minimal effort. He utilizes a low three-quarter arm angle. At worst, the right-hander should become a successful high-leverage reliever in the eighth or ninth inning.

As recently as last season in the minor leagues, Stewart had a fastball was clocking in as high as 97 mph. He isn’t throwing as hard but can still touch 93-94 mph on the radar gun, although sits a bit lower than that consistently. He relies mainly on a sinking fastball and slider.